Brownwood News – The Brownwood ISD (BISD) Board of Trustees met for a regular session meeting on Monday, April 8, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. The session was called to order by Board President, Michael Cloy. Reverend Eddie Hays from Mt. Zion Baptist Church gave the invocation and second grade students, Stone Bishop, Zoey Gaston, and Jackson Clark from East Elementary led the Pledge of Allegiance. East Elementary Music Teacher, Jennifer Gwathmey, led a group of second grade students in a performance of “Jailhouse Rock” from their Spring program.

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INSTRUCTIONAL FOCUS

BISD Deputy Superintendent, Liesa Land presented the Instructional Focus update, summarizing the growth of the UT OnRamps program which offers Brownwood High School (BHS) students the opportunity to take free college courses through the University of Texas. Land introduced BHS teacher and OnRamps course coordinator, Laura Martin, to share her experience with the program. Ms. Martin explained some of the training process that she went through to become one of the BHS OnRamps teachers. In addition, Martin noted her amazement at how well the students collaborate in groups through the lessons and how they hold each other accountable to get the work done. The program has been a successful initiative at BHS, and Ms. Martin expressed a desire to see the program continue to grow.

RECOGNITIONS

The following groups and individuals were recognized by BISD and were presented with certificates highlighting their achievements.

BISD Spotlight Teachers and Staff:

The Brownwood ISD Spotlight recognizes members of the BISD faculty and staff who go the extra mile to ensure excellence in education for all our students. Spotlight recipients are chosen from peer nominations. April 2019 honorees were Northwest Elementary Kindergarten Teacher, Billy Taylor, and BISD Grounds Foreman, Val Garcia. Spotlight honorees are pictured with BISD Trustee, Eric Evans and Northwest Elementary Principal Christine Young.

Texas All-State Choir – Jesse Bennett

Brownwood High School Senior, Jesse Bennet was selected to perform with the Texas All-State Choir. Bennet is pictured below with BISD Trustee, Eric Evans.

Special Olympics of Texas

Pictured below are BISD students that participated in the Special Olympics along with BISD Trustee, Tim Jacobs and BISD Director of Special Populations, Landry Blackstock.

Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE)

Members of TAFE were recognized for awards won at this year’s competition. Pictured below are two TAFE students pictured with BISD Special Populations Director, Landry Blackstock and BISD Trustee, Tim Jacobs.

Regional and State Powerlifting

Pictured below are BHS Regional Powerlifting competitors along with coach Brett Mouser and BISD Trustee, Tim Jacobs.

BHS Boys Basketball Team Awards

The BHS Boys Basketball Team, coached by Nadir Dalleh, was recognized for achievements that included a District Championship, Bi-District Championship, and two tournament championships. Pictured below are BHS Boys Basketball Team players along with BISD Trustee, Tim Jacobs, and Head Coach, Nadir Dalleh.

BHS Girls Basketball Awards

Pictured below are BHS Girls Basketball players that were recognized for individual State and District 7-AAAA awards along with BISD Trustee, Dr. Lisa Fowler and Coach Heather Hohertz-Perez.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

BISD Superintendent, Dr. Joe Young provided a staffing report containing the latest retirements, resignations, and new hires within the district. Information regarding budget, personnel, and the latest meetings with the Teacher Advisory and Parent Advisory Committees was presented. Dr. Young noted upcoming projects and events that include the new Summer Guide publication, improvements to BHS Graduation, and a recent meeting with the City of Brownwood regarding solutions to traffic issues around Northwest Elementary. Dr. Young stated that the city has done a great job working with the district to find solutions and engineers were well prepared with detailed options to address the problem.

DISCUSSION & ACTION ITEMS

DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

Summer School Plans: Dr. Young presented the 2019 Summer School Plans that included the dates, staff, and locations of the summer school sessions.

Quarterly Financial Report: Information provided included the 2nd Quarter Investment Report and the February 2019 Tax Assessor Collector’s Report.

FIRST READING OF DEAB(LOCAL) POLICY UPDATE

DEAB (LOCAL) defines the workweek for BISD employees. It currently starts on Saturday and ends on Friday. The desired change is to begin on Monday and end on Sunday. This change puts the weekend at the end of the pay week and not the beginning allowing employees who miss during the week to makeup those hours in the same work week without penalty. At this time, hours are not easily made up or approved because it would trigger overtime for the following week. For example, an employee who misses on Wednesday could work (with supervisor approval) on Saturday and still earn 40 hours for the week. This also provides easier scheduling for weekend events. This does not impact employee hours, pay, or overtime rates. Dr. Young noted that research had been done for several months regarding this change and BISD had reached out to other districts that have a similar policy to see if there were any drawbacks. Reports were all positive. This was the first reading.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF BHS INTERNATIONAL THESPIAN SOCIETY TRIP TO NATIONAL COMPETITION

An out-of-state travel request was made on behalf of the BHS International Thespian Society (ITS) to attend the ITS National Competition in Lincoln, Nebraska during June 2019. Fundraisers are being held to help cover costs and the Theatre Booster Club will also be providing funds. Registration closes on May 1, and students who have not paid their full balance by April 15 will not be registered and will not attend. BISD Trustee Jacobs made a motion to approve the out-of-state travel request as presented. Trustee Evans seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

CONSENT AGENDA

The following items were listed for consideration on the Consent Agenda.

1. BMS Fundraiser

2. Minutes from March 18, 2019 Board Meeting

Trustee Evans moved that the Consent Agenda be approved as presented, with Trustee Thompson seconding the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The board moved into executive session at 7:05 p.m. to discuss personnel matters. They returned to open session at 7:27 p.m.

CONSIDER APPROVAL OF TEACHER TERM AND PROBATIONARY CONTRACTS FOR 2019-2020

Trustee Jacobs made a motion to approve the Term and Probationary Contracts for teachers to be employed during the 2019-2020 school year. Trustee Dr. Fowler seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The following announcements were made for upcoming events:

• • Chamber of Commerce Banquet – April 11, 2019
• • Early Release Day – April 18, 2019
• • Good Friday/Easter Holiday – April 19 & 22, 2019
• • Next Regular Meeting – May 13, 2019
• • 2019 Summer Leadership Institute – Ft. Worth, TX – June 20-22, 2019

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